Mounting structure of a vehicle interior part

ABSTRACT

A mounting device ( 30 ) for mounting a vehicle interior part ( 20 ) to a vehicle body  10  includes a first engaging portion ( 31 ), a second engaging portion ( 32 ), and a movement limiting portion ( 33 ). The first engaging portion ( 31 ) is engaged and thus fixed to the vehicle body ( 10 ) so as to be kept from being disengaged therefrom under a predetermined load. The second engaging portion ( 32 ) is engaged and thus fixed to the interior part ( 20 ) so as to be disengaged therefrom under the predetermined load. While the second engaging portion ( 32 ) is engaged with the interior part ( 20 ), the movement limiting portion ( 33 ) is kept within an interior space ( 22 ) formed in the interior part ( 20 ). When the interior part is detached and moves away from the vehicle body ( 10 ), the movement limiting portion ( 33 ) prevents the interior part ( 20 ) from moving away from the vehicle body ( 10 ) by a distance exceeding a predetermined value.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of Invention

[0002] The invention relates to a mounting structure of a vehicleinterior part in which the vehicle interior part is mounted to a vehiclebody using a fixing device.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] A mounting structure of a vehicle interior part is disclosed inW099/67542. In this mounting structure, an interior part is mounted ontoa vehicle body with a fixing device (a clip) having a portion engagedwith the vehicle body (vehicle body-side engaging portion), a portionengaged with the interior part (an interior part-side engaging portion),and a flexible strap that connects the vehicle body-side engagingportion and the interior part-side engaging portion. The force generatedby the engagement of the interior part-side engaging portion with aprotrusion formed in the vehicle body side engaging portion, that is,pulling resistance, is set to be smaller than the force generated by theengagement of the vehicle body-side engaging portion with the vehiclebody. When a predetermined force that removes the interior parts actsupon the protrusion formed on the vehicle body side, the interiorpart-side engaging portion is disengaged from the protrusion. Uponmovement of the interior part away from the vehicle body, the strapserves to keep the interior part from moving away from the vehicle bodyby a distance equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0005] In the conventional mounting structure as described above, at thetime of or after mounting the interior part to the vehicle body, thestrap that connects the vehicle body-side engaging portion and theinterior part-side engaging portion may interfere with mounting theinterior part to the vehicle body smoothly. Besides, a portion betweenthe vehicle body-side engaging portion and the strap or between theinterior part-side engaging portion and the strap may be twisted andbroken when the interior part is detached away from the vehicle body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The mounting structure adapted to mount an interior part for avehicle on a body of the vehicle includes a first engaging portion thatis engaged with and fixed to the body of the vehicle, the first engagingportion being kept from disengaged from the body of the vehicle under apredetermined load, a second engaging portion that is connected to thefirst engaging portion, the second engaging portion being engaged withand fixed to the interior part, and disengaged from the interior partunder the predetermined load, and a movement limiting portion that isconnected to the second engaging portion and stored in an interior spaceformed in the interior part in a state where the second engaging portionis engaged with the interior part. The movement limiting portion limitsa movement of the interior part away from the body of the vehicle by adistance that is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance whenthe second engaging portion is disengaged from the interior part so asto be moved away from the body of the vehicle.

[0007] The movement limiting portion has an end portion that is movablein the interior space in which the movement limiting portion is kept.The first engaging portion is provided on a first end of the mountingstructure, the second engaging portion is provided on an intermediateportion of the mounting structure, and the movement limiting portion isprovided on a second end of the mounting structure.

[0008] The movement limiting portion includes an end that serves as ananchor portion engaged with the interior part so as to limit themovement of the interior part, and a flexible portion that connects theanchor portion and the second engaging portion. The second engagingportion and the movement limiting portion have substantially flat shapesthat extend in different directions.

[0009] According to the embodiment of the invention, in the state wherethe interior part is mounted on the vehicle body, the first engagingportion is engaged with and fixed to the vehicle body, the secondengaging portion is engaged with and fixed to the interior part, and themovement limiting portion is placed within the interior space formed inthe interior part. When a predetermined load (pulling strength) actsupon the interior part, the second engaging portion is disengaged fromthe interior part while the first engaging portion is kept from beingdisengaged from the interior part. When the interior part moves awayfrom the vehicle body, the movement limiting portion serves to limitmovement of the interior part from the vehicle body by the distanceequal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0010] In the case where the second engaging portion of the mountingdevice is engaged with the interior part, the movement limiting portiondoes not interferes with mounting the interior part to the vehicle bodybecause it is placed within the interior space formed in the interiorpart.

[0011] When the movement limiting portion is placed in the interiorspace formed in the interior part, the end of the movement limitingportion is allowed to move within the interior space. It is unlikelythat the movement limiting portion is twisted when the interior part ismoved away from the vehicle body, enhancing the breaking strength.

[0012] The first engaging portion, the second engaging portion and themovement limiting portion are formed on one end, an intermediateposition, and the other end of the mounting structure, respectively. Inthe above-described structure, the second engaging portion can beengaged with a part of the interior space of the interior part in thestate where the movement limiting portion is placed within the interiorspace of the interior part. The interior space of the interior part maypartially serve as a portion with which the second engaging portion isengaged. This makes it possible to simplify the structure of theinterior part, improving mounting performance.

[0013] A tip of the end of the movement limiting portion is formed as ananchor portion which is engaged with the interior surface of theinterior part so as to limit the movement thereof. A joint portion thatconnects the anchor portion and the second engaging portion is formed asan elastic member. The joint portion is capable of absorbing the impactcaused by the movement of the interior part away from the vehicle body.Furthermore, as the anchor portion is engaged with the interior surfaceof the interior part, the movement of the interior part can be limitedreliably.

[0014] The second engaging portion and the anchor portion of themovement limiting portion have substantially flat shapes that extend indifferent directions. This makes it possible to bring the interior parthaving the hole with which the second engaging portion is engaged intoengagement with the anchor portion with sufficient strength, limitingthe movement of the interior part away from the vehicle body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The foregoing and/or further objects, features and advantages ofthe invention will become more apparent from the following descriptionof preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich like numerals are used to represent like elements and wherein:

[0016]FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of a mounting structure ofa vehicle interior part according to the invention;

[0017]FIG. 2 is a view showing a mounting hole formed in a pillar shownin FIG. 1;

[0018]FIG. 3 is a view showing a mounting hole formed in a pillargarnish shown in FIG. 1;

[0019]FIG. 4 is a front view of a mounting device itself shown in FIG.1;

[0020]FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the mounting device shown in FIG. 4;

[0021]FIG. 6 is a partially broken side view of the mounting deviceshown in FIG. 4;

[0022]FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 4;

[0023]FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 6; and

[0024]FIG. 9 is an enlarge view of portion B of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a pillargarnish 20 as a vehicle interior part which is mounted onto a pillar 10of a vehicle body using a mounting device 30. A rectangular mountinghole 11 shown in FIG. 2 is formed in the pillar 10 while a trapezoidalinterior space 22 including a rectangular mounting hole 21 shown in FIG.3 formed in the lower end is formed in the pillar garnish 20.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 4 to 10, the mounting device 30 includes afirst engaging portion 31 at one end thereof (lower end portion shown inFIG. 4), a second engaging portion 32 at an intermediate portionthereof, and a movement limiting portion 33 at the other end thereof,which are integrally formed of a synthetic resin material (e.g. fiberreinforced nylon). The first engaging portion 31 includes a hood-likeportion 31 a and a pair of engaging claws 31 b. The hood-like portion 31a is adapted to elastically abut on an annular circumference of an innersurface of the pillar 10, and each of the engaging claws 31 b is adaptedto elastically deform and pass through the mounting hole 11 to beengaged with an outer surface of the pillar 10. The first engagingportion 31 as aforementioned is engaged with and fixed to the pillar 10when it is fitted into the mounting hole 11 of the pillar 10, so as tobe kept from being disengaged from the pillar 10 when a predeterminedload (pulling force) is applied.

[0027] The second engaging portion 32 includes a rectangular base plate32 a and a pair of engaging claws 32 b. The rectangular base plate 32 ais adapted to abut on an outer surface of the interior space 22 and eachof the engaging claws is adapted to elastically deform and pass throughthe mounting hole 21 and to fit to an inner surface of the interiorspace 22. A portion 32 c in which a pair of the engaging claws 32 b areformed has a substantially flat shape. The second engaging portion 32 isfitted into the mounting hole 21 of the pillar garnish so as to beengaged with and fixed to a portion 22 a of the interior space 22 of thepillar garnish. The portion 32 c of the second engaging portion 32 isdisengaged from the interior space 22 when a predetermined load (pullingforce) is applied.

[0028] The movement limiting portion 33 includes an anchor portion 33 aand a flexible portion 33 b. The anchor portion 33 a is provided at oneend of the movement limiting portion 33 and is adapted to limit themovement of the pillar garnish 20 when it is engaged with the portion 22a of the interior space 22. The flexible portion 33 b is provided as thejoint that connects the anchor portion 33 a and the second engagingportion 32. The flexible portion 33 b includes a flexible curved portionwith a flat band-like shape at the intermediate position. While thesecond engaging portion 32 is engaged with the pillar garnish 20 asshown in FIG. 1, the movement limiting portion 33 is kept within theinterior space 22. Upon disengagement of the second engaging portion 32from the pillar garnish 20, the pillar garnish 20 is detached from thepillar 10. Then the movement limiting portion 33 functions to preventthe pillar garnish 20 from moving away from the pillar 10 by a distancethat exceeds a predetermined value.

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, the anchor portion 33 a of a fan-likeflat shape has a width W1 (smaller than W2 as the length of the longside of the mounting hole 21 shown in FIG. 3) and has a thickness T1(smaller than T2 as the length of the short side of the mounting hole 21shown in FIG. 3). The direction in which the flat shape of the anchorportion 33 a extends is different from the direction in which the flatshape of the portion 32 c extends by 90 degrees. Besides, the anchorportion 33 a is placed within the interior space 22 of the pillargarnish 20 such that the anchor portion 33 a is not constrained butmovable therein as shown in FIG. 1.

[0030] In this embodiment, the anchor portion 33 a of the mountingdevice 30 is first inserted into the mounting hole 21 of the pillargarnish 20. The mounting device 30 is then turned 90 degrees such thatthe flexible portion 33 b of the mounting device 30 is inserted into themounting hole 21 of the pillar garnish 20. Then, both engaging claws 32b and the portion 32 c of the second engaging portion 32 are fit to themounting hole 21 of the pillar garnish 20 under pressure so as to engageboth the engaging claws 32 b with the inner surface of the storingportion 22. Accordingly the mounting device 30 is installed to theinterior space 22 of the pillar garnish 20.

[0031] In a state where the mounting device 30 is installed to theinterior space 22 of the pillar garnish 20, both engaging claws 31 b ofthe first engaging portion 31 are secured to the outer surface of thepillar 10 by fitting those engaging claws 31 b to the mounting hole 11of the pillar 10 under pressure. The pillar garnish 20, thus, can bemounted to the pillar 10 using the mounting device 30.

[0032] In this embodiment, when the pillar garnish 20 is mounted on thepillar 10 using the mounting device 30, the first and the secondengaging portions 31, 32 of the mounting device 30 remain engaged andfixed with the pillar 10 and the pillar garnish 20, respectively. Themovement limiting portion 33 of the mounting device 30 is kept withinthe interior space 22 of the pillar garnish 20 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0033] When a predetermined load (pulling force) is applied to theabove-described pillar garnish 20, the second engaging portion 32 of themounting device 30 is disengaged from the interior space 22 of thepillar garnish 20 in the state where the first engaging portion 31 ofthe mounting device 30 is engaged with the pillar 10. The pillar garnish20 is then detached and moves away from the pillar 10. At this time, thepillar garnish 20 is prevented from moving away from the pillar 16 by adistance that exceeds a predetermined value by the movement limitingportion 33 of the mounting device 30.

[0034] As described above, in the embodiment, in the state where thesecond engaging portion 32 of the mounting device 30 is engaged with theinterior space 22 of the pillar garnish 20, the movement limitingportion 33 of the mounting device 30 is kept within the interior space22 of the pillar garnish 20. As a result, the mounting device 30 doesnot interfere with mounting of the pillar garnish 20 on the pillar 10.

[0035] Also, in the embodiment, the movement limiting portion 33 isplaced within the interior space 22 of the pillar garnish 20 such thatthe end of the movement limiting portion 33, that is, the anchor portion33 a, is not constrained (can freely move within the interior space 22).It is, thus, unlikely that the movement limiting portion 33 is twistedupon detachment and movement of the pillar garnish 20 away from thepillar 10. This makes it possible to enhance the break strength of themovement limiting portion 33.

[0036] Also, in this embodiment, the mounting device 30 includes thefirst engaging portion 31 at one end thereof, the second engagingportion 32 at an intermediate portion thereof, and the movement limitingportion 33 at the other end thereof. In the state where the movementlimiting portion 33 is placed within the interior space 22 of the pillargarnish 20, it is possible to bring the second engaging portion 32 intoengagement with the portion 22 a of the interior space 22 of the pillargarnish 20. As the portion 22 a is engaged with the second engagingportion 32, the structure of the pillar garnish 20 can be simplified,allowing easy mounting operation.

[0037] Also, in the embodiment, the movement limiting portion 33includes the anchor portion 33 a and the flexible portion 33 b. Theanchor portion 33 a is provided at one end of the movement limitingportion 33 and engaged with the pillar garnish 20 so as to limitmovement thereof. The flexible portion 33 b is provided at a jointconnecting the anchor portion 33 a and the second engaging portion 32 ofthe movement limiting portion 33. When the pillar garnish 20 is detachedfrom the pillar 10, the flexible portion 33 b is capable of reducing theimpact caused by the detachment of the pillar garnish 20. The engagementof the anchor portion 33 a with the interior space of the pillar garnish20 may reliably restrict movement of the pillar garnish 20 away from thepillar 10.

[0038] In the embodiment, the pillar garnish 20 as the interior part ismounted on the pillar 10 as the vehicle body. However, other interiorpart may be mounted on the vehicle body in the same manner as theforegoing embodiment or in the modified manner. In the embodiment, theflexible portion 33 b has a curved portion at its center. However, suchcurve does not have to be provided at the center but other configurationmay be employed. Further, while the curved portion is formedsubstantially in the middle of the flexible portion 33 b in theembodiment, the embodiment may be implemented without such curvedportion as one modification example. Also, the shape of each portion ofthe mounting device 30 may be modified when appropriate.

1. A mounting structure adapted to mount an interior part for a vehicleon a body of the vehicle, comprising: a first engaging portion that isengaged with and fixed to the body of the vehicle, the first engagingportion being kept from disengaged from the body of the vehicle under apredetermined load; a second engaging portion that is connected to thefirst engaging portion, the second engaging portion being engaged withand fixed to the interior part, and disengaged from the interior partunder the predetermined load; and a movement limiting portion that isconnected to the second engaging portion and stored in an interior spaceformed in the interior part in a state where the second engaging portionis engaged with the interior part, wherein the movement limiting portionlimits a movement of the interior part away from the body of the vehicleby a distance that is equal to or greater than a predetermined distancewhen the second engaging portion is disengaged from the interior part soas to be moved away from the body of the vehicle.
 2. A mountingstructure according to claim 1, wherein the movement limiting portionhas an end portion that is movable in the interior space where themovement limiting portion is kept.
 3. A mounting structure according toclaim 1, wherein the first engaging portion is provided on a first endof the mounting structure, the second engaging portion is provided on anintermediate portion of the mounting structure, and the movementlimiting portion is provided on a second end of the mounting structure.4. A mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the movementlimiting portion includes an end that serves as an anchor portionengaged with the interior part so as to limit the movement of theinterior part, and a flexible portion that connects the anchor portionand the second engaging portion.
 5. A mounting structure according toclaim 4, wherein the second engaging portion and the movement limitingportion have substantially flat shapes that extend in differentdirections.
 6. A mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein thebody of the vehicle is a pillars.
 7. A mounting structure according toclaim 1, wherein the interior part is a pillar garnish.